Cadaver Shows Us The Madness Within
Welcome, horror friends, to a unique entry in our review library: Norwegian Horror! Written and directed by Jarand Herdel, and produced by Netflix, Kadaver/Cadaver takes us into the depths of the hotel and shows us the madness within.
Set in a desolate post-apocalyptic Norwegian city, the populace lives on the brink of utter poverty under the lights of an elegant hotel on a hill over town. Leonora (Gitte Witt, Bliss!) and Jacob (Thomas Gullestad, The 12th Man) live in an apartment with their daughter Alice (Tuva Olivia Remman in her debut film role), and they’re constantly worried about how they’re going to feed themselves. When Leo receives an invitation to a play and a free meal from a man working for the hotel’s owner Mathias (Thorbjørn Harr, Vikings), they jump at the chance. What they don’t know is that the show is interactive...and dangerous, and the further Leo goes into the depths of the hotel, the more she uncovers the sinister reason for her invitation.
Aside from being a cerebral, psychological film, the thing that stands out about Cadaver is its magnificent visuals. The hotel is decked out in dark wood, red, and gold. From the picture frames to the masks the guests wear as part of the show, the gold especially tends to highlight things of importance. The paintings hanging in the hotel are also integral to the visual story, their eerie and macabre subjects illustrating the true nature of the play. Combine all of this with some amazing camerawork, and you have a film that’s a feast for the eyes.
Although this cast is new to the international distribution scene, they all did a wonderful job in bringing a gritty element to their characters. From Witt’s Leo to Harr’s Mathias, all the characters have something to hide, whether it’s loss or something more sinister. I loved how Alice stole the show, even though she had the least screen time out of the three characters in her family. This film is definitely worth a watch if you’re looking for a nose dive into psychological horror and mystery.
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